Big horse helps Worcester woman realize her big dream

NORTH BROOKFIELD — If she wasn't spending every extra penny on her horse, Jacklyn Gearin might have a new car; maybe a snazzy fire-engine-red convertible to match her trademark slick lipstick.

"But I wouldn't be happy," she said sitting on an overturned bucket outside the barn at Little Pond Farm, a friendly white barn cat clamoring for her attention.

"You have to have things in your life that make you happy, not powerful," she said.

Across the way a huge horse, Apollo, glistened in the sun. His sleek black coat caught the light as he turned to the sound of Ms. Gearin's voice, stomping his foot — the signal that he wouldn't mind if she gave him a peppermint or an apple.

"We have a bond," she said of the 1-ton Percheron that was once half of a team of Amish plow horses. "We have a trust that doesn't come overnight. It comes after a lot of miles."

Apollo, 13 years old, is not the sort of horse one would normally throw a saddle on, though plenty of folks have ridden horses of the large breed. Ms. Gearin, who lives in Worcester and boards her horse in North Brookfield, said she'd never thought about it. But that changed when she was at The Big E in West Springfield watching the fair's horse show a couple of years ago and she saw riders in a category called "draft horse under saddle." The giant horses with riders aboard took her breath away, and she said to her ex-husband, "I'm gonna be in that show."

She remembers that he chuckled. Lenny Woodis had taught his former wife to drive Apollo and Zeus, the two big Percherons he got at auction 11 years ago.

"I had very little experience with draft horses," she said. "Except that when I was a kid growing up in Spencer our neighbor had one and we would walk down there with my mother and call him and he'd come to see us. I called him Big Foot."

After some practice, she was able to drive the team around New Braintree when she lived there. She'd head to a local store, park the team and grab a hot chocolate before driving them back home.

She'd ridden horses as a child but developed asthma and allergies and quit when she was 9 years old. A few years ago, in her mid-40s she was ready to ride again, this time on Apollo, whose plowing partner, Zeus, has also taken to being ridden.

"I got a $15 bridle at an auction in Pennsylvania and a saddle for $25 that I didn't exactly fit in," she said. With makeshift reins, she took her first ride, and her dream was within reach.

There was no indoor riding ring, so she simply plowed a track in one of the high fields and rode Apollo there.

In almost no time, the pair clicked, the big horse reacting to Ms. Gearin's directions as though he'd been made for trail rides and horse shows.

She started taking the horse to smaller shows, for practice, and she noticed that when she walked Apollo off the trailer, heads turned and folks grew quiet.

"It was pretty cool," she said. "I liked it. What I really like is sharing Apollo with people. He's a very special horse."

Apollo became known for his gentle demeanor. This summer, 10-year-old Sophie Law of Brookfield, whose mother, Amy Law, is also a skilled rider, showed Apollo several times and did quite well.

Mrs. Law and Sophie are part of what Ms. Gearin calls "the A-Team," a group of Apollo fans who help at the barn, lend a hand at shows and cheer for their favorite horse and rider wearing "A-Team" shirts. Ms. Gearin often credits them on her Facebook page.

On Friday, she'll take to the ring at the Big E, hoping to win her class. She'll arrive a few days early and will ride Apollo, wearing some expensive, fancy gear, in the Coliseum during down time.

The show will be her second and she's already talking about next year when, after the Big E ends, the World Percheron Congress will come to the fairgrounds.

"Oh, I'll be there for that," she said. "Just imagine it. And Sophie's going to ride in that, too. She'll be ready by then."

Ms. Gearin said she's worked in some high-stress jobs but has always been able to put that behind her when she climbs on her horse and the two of them gallop off through autumn leaves, snowy forests or spring buds.

"When I was a kid, I remember I'd ride the carousel and I would always pick the black horse with the most bling," she said. "Now I have that horse, and I just keep going around and around and it just gets better and better."

Contact Kim Ring at kring@telegram.com. Follow her on Twitter @kimmring